State Roundup, April 30, 2018

TOLL CRACKDOWN PULLS IN MILLIONS: Maryland’s stepped-up efforts to collect unpaid tolls are raking in millions of dollars for the state — outpacing the growth in toll revenue itself, Luz Lazo of the Post reports. State lawmakers and consumer protection groups say the crackdown — which includes referring thousands of delinquent accounts to collections — is punitive and predatory, and is pushing Marylanders into debt — and in some cases bankruptcy. Transportation officials say they are only enforcing tolls motorists should be paying anyway — a major shift from years past when the state allowed scofflaws to run up hefty amounts in unpaid tolls and fines without consequences.

FRACKING BAN DISINGENUOUS: In an op-ed for the Annapolis Capital, Monica O’Connor of Maryland WISE Women, opines that Gov. Larry Hogan’s policies on fracking — natural gas extraction through the technology known as hydraulic fracturing — are disingenuous. After allaying concerns by signing the fracking ban into law, Hogan — along with his allies on the Public Service Commission and in the state Department of Energy — has been kick-starting a natural gas boom by aggressively promoting a dangerous web of fracked gas pipeline infrastructure and gas combustion projects throughout the state.

TRONE DONATIONS CRITICIZED: Over the past two decades, as David Trone has emerged as a major donor in national politics, Trone, his family and his businesses have poured millions into Maryland politics — mostly to his own campaigns but also to dozens of elected officials and political organizations across the state. The magnitude of Trone’s contributions is unprecedented in Maryland and has made him a homegrown version of a modern political archetype: tycoons using their vast wealth to propel their transformations into candidates. Some say he is trying to buy a congressional seat, Paul Schwartzman of the Post writes.

SHAKEUP IN MILLER CAMP?Aruna Miller’s congressional campaign is expected to announce a major staff shakeup, according to two sources with knowledge of Miller’s plans. Ryan Miner of A Miner Detail blog writes that sources say that Miller, who is running to succeed John Delaney in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, is set to bring on Shelia O’Connell, a well-known and well-connected political veteran political operative.

COUNCIL CANDIDATES ON CRIME, GROWTH: Candidates for Baltimore County Council from the Pikesville area are pledging to pursue policies to reduce crime and curtail excessive development in a district that shares a border with the city, Pamela Wood of the Sun writes. The three Democrats vying to replace Councilwoman Vicki Almond, who is running for county executive, say county government needs to do more to redevelop older communities while slowing the march of sprawl into rural areas in a district cradled between Reisterstown and Falls roads.

High taxes, bad traffic, perceived hostility to business interests, a balky government bureaucracy and the possible shrinkage of the federal government put Montgomery County’s economy in jeopardy, a Sage Policy Group report has found – and county leaders haven’t been doing enough to prime the economic engine. The report was outlined during a very different type of candidate forum, and Josh Kurtz of Maryland Matters writes an analysis of the report and how it could effect the county executive’s race.

MO CO IN THROES OF GROWTH: Jennifer Barrios of the Post reports that in 1991, defense contractor General Dynamics was looking for a place to move its 200-job headquarters. The Montgomery County executive at the time, Neal Potter, had a ready answer: Not here. Potter said the county needed “to ease off” creating new jobs — because of the problems, like traffic, he said they would bring. The company ended up building in Northern Virginia.